Darfur UN forces rejection is a cabinet decision – Bashir

Sept 24, 2006 (KHARTOUM) – President Omar al-Bashir has affirmed that the decision to reject the UN forces takeover in Darfur is a decision of the government cabinet

Speaking in a press conference at the Friendship Hall here Sunday night, al-Bashir said the decision was issued unanimously by the Council of Ministers and the other government institutions.

Bashir meant to reply to the attacks by junior partner in the government of the national unity, SPLM, that the UN rejection was decided by the ruling National Congress Party only.

The President described the situation in Darfur as in its best state, referring to the great efforts being exerted by the government currently to secure the return of the displaced people to their villages and rehabilitate what had been destroyed by the war.

An estimated 200,000 people have died in Darfur since violence flared in 2003, and 2.5 million have been displaced in the fighting between government forces, rebels and militias.

Sudanese First Vice-President Salva Kiir said in remarks published on 16 September that he would accept the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region. Salva said the Sudanese government was incapable of protecting civilians in Darfur, and called on the U.N. to intervene.

The management of Darfur crisis seems will deepen the mounting distrust between the two signatories of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

(ST)